For those of you thinking about buying a new RIB for yourself or business, take a look at what Matthew had to say - he has some good advice.

This location is rarely visited by boat on the big island as the trip is long (over two and half hours) and the entrance to the valley can be dicey. Luckily they're running a USCG Certified RIBCRAFT 9.0.

Click Here for a few photos from the tour.

Steering
Inspect steering systems, including tiller steering friction fittings on outboards. Tighten them if they're loose. Lubricate steering cable and steering arm

Freshwater flush
Run the engine use a flushing attachment, or run the outboard in a tank filled with fresh water.

Change Engine Oil
With the engine warm change oil and oil filter. Be sure to dispose of the used oil at an authorized recycling center

Drain and Refill Gearcase
Change the lower unit gearcase lubricant on outboards. Even a little water trapped in the gearcase can cause damage, especially if allowed to freeze. Use lubricant specified in your owner's manual.

Empty Fuel Lines and Carburetors on Engine
While the engine is still running, disconnect the fuel line from the engine. When the engine dies, the fuel delivery components will be empty, preventing gums from forming in the stagnant gasoline and clogging lines and jets or injectors.

Fog the Carburetor Intake(s)
Before the engine runs out of fuel, spray fogging oil into the carburetor(s). Fogging oil is an anticorrosive that will protect the internal surfaces of the carburetor and the cylinders. Typically the engine will run rough just before it runs out of fuel. As that happens, give the carburetor(s) a heavier shot of fogging oil to make sure internal surfaces are fully coated.

Drain Fuel Tank and Supply Lines
Starting your engine in the spring with old gasoline is an invitation to problems. Manage the last few weeks of your boating season to leave your fuel tank(s) close to empty, then drain the fuel that remains. Use it in your snow blower or burn it in your car, but leave gasoline tanks and lines empty. Some boaters prefer to store the tanks full to minimize the potential for condensation. I find a cupful of water in the tank in the spring a lot smaller problem than 50 gallons of bad gasoline, but if you want to leave the tank full, pour in an appropriate amount of gasoline stabilizer to combat the formation of passage-clogging gums.

Drain Cooling Passages
Disconnect the flush attachment or remove the motor from the flush tank. With the motor upright, let all water drain out of the pick-up. Open drain plugs (if any--see your owner's manual) to empty the powerhead and intermediate housing. Crank the motor a couple of times by hand or "bump" it with the starter to empty the water pump. If the motor will be exposed to freezing conditions, it is essential that no water remains inside. Consider having the water pump impeller replaced every two or three years. The rubber legs can get stiff, reducing water circulation, or they may break off, eliminating coolant flow completely.

For the Cylinders
Remove the spark plugs and spray fogging oil into the holes to coat the interior surfaces of the cylinders. Rotate the flywheel a few turns to spread the oil on the cylinder walls. While the plugs are out is the time to check them and regap or replace as required. Reinstall the spark plugs.

Lubricate Linkages and the Electric Starter Drive Mechanism
Clean all pivots and visible gears and protect them for the winter with oil or grease, as specified in your owner's manual.

Grease Control Cables
Lubricate control cables and all linkages and pivots.

Protecting the Powerhead and Engine Components
Mist-coat powerhead with an anticorrosion spray. Coat unpainted parts with an anticorrosion spray Spray a moisture displacing lubricant such as a silicone product onto electrical terminals and the fuse panel. Read the label to make sure the spray is safe for use on electrical components.

Degrease, Derust, Touch-Up
Maintain all painted surfaces to keep corrosion at bay.

Clean and Liberally Lubricate Propeller Shaft
Check the props for nicks. Even slight damage can hinder performance. Worse yet, blade damage can cause vibration, damaging other engine parts and the drive system. Some damaged props can be repaired by marine dealers for a fraction of the cost of a new one. The off season is the perfect time to have your prop(s) serviced. If the engine will be stored on the boat, take the prop(s) home to discourage theft.

Store Upright
Store outboards in an upright position.

** Some of the above information was furnished by Don Casey.

For boaters who aren't comfortable doing their own maintenance, all the procedures may be performed by a qualified marine technician at your local boat dealer, just ask them. Taking a little time in the fall to get your boat and motor ready for winter means that you can be one of the first boaters out on the water next spring.

The following are some basic general steps to follow to properly winterize you RIB:

-Clean boat inside and out and cover when stored, even indoors. Allow for air circulation under the cover to prevent mildew.

- Drain water from the bilges and leave the transom drain plug out. It's a good idea to place a reminder note in a conspicuous place to avoid embarrassment at the boat ramp next spring.

- Drain fuel from tank or add fuel stabilizer for the winter

- Insure the tube is fully inflated. (If RIB does not have pressure relief valves inflate to 80% pressure)

- Properly winterize engine by changing the fluids and filters, flushing the lower unit, and fogging the carburetor.

- Open all storage compartments so that air can circulate throughout the boat.

- Hang life jackets up where they can air out.

- Examine trailer tires and grease the wheel bearings, replacing them as necessary. Check bulbs and electrical contacts on the plugs as well as sockets where the bulbs screw in. Spray contacts with a moisture displacing lubricant and wrap electrical tape around the plugs to keep them dry.

- Put the trailer on blocks and remove the tires to prolong rubber life and hinder boat thieves.

- Check the owner's manual for tips that are particular to your own brand of boat, engine and trailer.

Stay tuned for my next posting which will be all about winterizing the engine.

New RIB owners ask us all the time if there is anything special they need to do to their boat in preparation for winter storage. In short, winterizing a RIB is no different than winterizing a hardsided boat. The biggest thing is to keep the boat covered and dry. Over the next few days, we'll cover some of the standard items you should cover when preparing your RIB for the winter.

The Tube:

Today we'll go over the tube and what needs to be done to them in order to prepare them for winter. In brief, NOTHING. That's right, really - there's very little that needs to happen to the tube. As I've mentioned in the past, you actually want to do just what you've done all summer long – Keep Them Fully Inflated. Many people think they need to deflate the tube for the winter, but that's probably the worse thing you can do as a deflated tube puts strain on attachment patches and rubstrake that can cause them to peel off over time.

If your RIB does not have pressure relief valves (all RIBCRAFT RIBs built in the United States come standard with Pressure Relief Valves) we recommend that you leave the tube 80% inflated. This will allow for expansion on warm days in the fall and spring.

Other than "topping" off the tubes with air, all you need to do is simply give the tube a good washing with soap and water. It's also good to spray the pressure relief valves with fresh water to remove any salt build up from the summer.

Scott Begovich and Marc Granet, the throttleman and driver for the turbine-powered Miss GEICO offshore racing catamaran, dearly hope their rescue boat never has to do its job. But in addition to being racers, they are realists. They know that things can go bad—as in really bad—instantly in a cat that can top 180 mph in racing conditions.
When it came time to build a rescue boat, they chose something that wasn’t just durable and reliable, but could be extensively customized for the job.

As the name implies, RIBs have rigid hulls with inflatable air-filled chambers around their perimeters. Because they are, in essence, soft-sided, they make great yacht tenders and harbor shuttles—and rescue boats. RIBs are also fast and efficient. They do well in rough water as well, and for these reasons they’re raced extensively in Europe in production- type classes.

With financial backing from GEICO Insurance and AMF Racing, the team ordered a 32-footer. It was shipped directly to TNT Custom Marine in North Miami, where it was rigged with a pair of Mercury Racing OptiMax 300XS 3.2 Stroker outboard engines. Mercury Racing actually donated the engines for the project. But the rigging job didn’t start and stop with installing the outboards. The Miss GEICO rescue boat was set up with a custom-built tower that has lights and antennas, as well as rescue-specific equipment including a 1,000-gallon-per-hour pump to help remove water from a sinking race boat. Set in reverse mode, the pump could also deliver the same 1,000 gallons an hour to help extinguish a burning race boat.

Naturally, the Miss GEICO rescue RIB is equipped with air cylinders in holders for rescue divers, as well as a complete trauma kit for the physician who will be on board the boat during every race in 2008. Its VHF and UHF communication system enables the on-board rescue crew to communicate with rescue helicopters, as well as race control and the Miss GEICO catamaran. If no ramp is available, the rescue boat can be craned into the water—that’s how strong its lifting rings are.

Two steps were built into the rescue boat’s hull. The inner set of the boat’s four strakes terminated at the first step, while the outer pair ran full length. Also incorporated into the bottom was a variable deadrise keel. With its fuel tanks full, the Miss GEICO rescue craft reportedly has topped 72 mph.

The 32-footer, which is dressed in the same graphics as the Miss GEICO catamaran, didn’t come cheap. Even with donated outboard engines, the price tag for it—with all the previously noted extras as well as a GPS system—came to more than $200,000. The boat was delivered to the Miss GEICO team at the 2007 Key West World Championships.
“You’ll see it all over the place next season,” said Begovich, who brought the boat to Powerboat’s 2008 Performance Trials in Fort Myers, Fla., and served as its driver. “But hopefully, you’ll never see it used for what it’s intended for.”

Unlike the United States until recently, Europe has long suffered from high fuel (petrol) costs. These higher costs forced Europeans to look to smaller fuel efficient cars and smarter more efficient boat designs when it came to on the water activities. As such, Europeans have preferred RIBs over solid sided boats for decades because of their fuel efficiencies.

RIBs sport a light weight design and sleek hulls with far greater planning capabilities. They require less horsepower to achieve the same speeds as solid sided boats because they are lighter weight and have less drag through the water. These design characteristics deliver excellent efficiencies which lead to fuel savings.

With the fuel challenges in the U.S. hitting everyone, RIBs are the answer to stress free boating and represent future of the boating market.

In his August editorial, Soundings Magazine Editor William Sisson, raised the question of whether or not rising fuel costs will fundamentally change how we get out on the water in the decades to come? He stated that the auto industry is in the midst of retooling to produce more energy efficient automobiles and that boat builders will need to do the same. The result, he said, could be a new generation of hulls both lighter and more efficient.

Sisson theorized that perhaps people are going to have to change their expectations about speed, performance and in some cases ride. He wrote: "I suspect we will need to readjust our priorities about what we expect out of our boats". Sisson says that successful planing boats of the future will be lighter, have flatter sections aft, and run on longer narrower hulls – as a result they can be powered by smaller, lighter engines, requiring less fuel capacity but he says you'll have to sacrifice performance in rough weather.

People no doubt will begin looking towards improving fuel efficiencies. For those of you who already own a RIB you already have it. A RIB delivers all of these "futuristic" properties Sisson discusses. But what a RIB doesn't do is sacrifice performance – instead it improves it. So, I agree that people's expectations will change, but it will be that they can finally have their cake and eat it to - better fuel efficiency and better rough weather performance.

A RIB is the boat of the future available today. Gone are the days of people looking to heavy hard-sided boats like Grady White and Boston Whaler. Boaters will now do as they've done in Europe for decades and turn to RIBs.

We will meet at the town dock in Marblehead Harbor at 9:30am and then head north to Gloucester. We'll parade through the Annisquam Canal to Wingaersheek Beach for a picnic lunch raft. After some swimming, we'll head around Cape Ann for a view of Rockport and then back down to Marblehead.

There's no need to own a RIBCRAFT, all you need to do is own a RIB and bring it along. This a fantastic opportunity to get out on your RIB and enjoy a day on the water with other RIB owners.

If you'd like more information or would like to join us, please RSVP to Matthew Velluto at mvelluto@ribcraftusa.com by July 9th.

Watch the opening scenes of the show with the Mitigator here or go to the CSI Miami website to view the full episode.

As boating season approaches, the Bush Administration wants to enlist the country's 80 million recreational boaters to help reduce the chances that a small boat could deliver a nuclear or radiological bomb somewhere along the country's 95,000 miles of coastline and inland waterways. According to an April 23 intelligence assessment obtained by The Associated Press, "The use of a small boat as a weapon is likely to remain al Qaeda's weapon of choice in the maritime environment, given its ease in arming and deploying, low cost, and record of success."

While the United States has so far been spared this type of strike in its own waters, terrorists have used small boats to attack in other countries. The millions of humble dinghies, fishing boats and smaller cargo ships that ply America's waterways are not nationally regulated as they buzz around ports, oil tankers, power plants and other potential terrorist targets.

This could allow terrorists in small boats to carry out an attack similar to the USS Cole bombing, says Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen. That 2000 attack killed 17 American sailors in Yemen when terrorists rammed a dinghy packed with explosives into the destroyer. "There is no intelligence right now that there's a credible risk" of this type of attack, Allen says. "But the vulnerability is there." To reduce the potential for such an attack in the United States, the Department of Homeland Security has developed a new strategy intended to increase security by enhancing safety standards.

Learn more about the plan and read the full article on CNN.com in which Major John Fetterman of the Maine Marine Patrol (A RIBCRAFT customer with a fleet of RIBCRAFT 4.8s) was quoted.